Cross channel delivery system and method

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems consistent with the present invention provide a cross channel fulfillment system that enables consumers to purchase and receive items using different transmission mediums. The fulfillment system is a centralized distribution system that maintains information relating to consumers and has access to multiple transmission mediums. Specifically, the fulfillment system contains a database of consumer contact information relating to each transmission medium. The fulfillment system uses a remote device to provide information to consumers. The remote device transmits and receives broadcast messages including information relating to purchasable items. The fulfillment system may deliver a purchased item to the consumer using a medium different from that used to purchase the item.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to data processing systems and, moreparticularly, to electronic delivery systems.

B. Description of the Related Art

The world is quickly becoming wired. Nearly all households andbusinesses both have telephone and cable access. Now, more that ever,consumers may choose from a plurality of transmission mediums to accessthe Internet, such as cable, telephone, satellite, or some other highspeed connection. As more consumers gain access to the Internet though amultitude of available transmission mediums, things previously done inthe real world are now available through the Internet using at least oneof the transmission mediums.

Probably the most commercialized use of the Internet is the World WideWeb. Every day, more people gain access to the Web, and every day,people are using the Web to shop online. Online shopping provides alevel of convenience consumers want, need and will soon demand.Electronic commerce or “e-commerce” is the term often used to refer, atleast in part, to online shopping on the Web.

With the explosive growth of online shopping on the Internet, the needfor online delivery of digital items has also considerably grown. Onlinedelivery refers to delivery of electronic items using an electronicformat in any transmission medium. For example, a book, movie, or even asingle track from a CD may be delivered to a consumer as a digital item.Consumers desire these digital items delivered immediately in a formatsuitable for viewing or playback using a consumer device, such as acomputer. With the number of online stores that provide digital deliverygrowing exponentially every year, consumer devices capable of ordering,receiving, and viewing have also become more prevalent.

For example, WebTV, a popular Internet consumer device, is capable ofordering, and receiving digital items using more than one transmissionmedium. That is, the WebTV device provides access to the Internet aswell as access to a conventional TV. Although the WebTV device enablesconsumers to use multiple transmission mediums using the same device, itdoes so at the expense of limited upgradeability. A consumer cannotspecify a new transmission medium for delivery, unless the WebTV devicesupports the transmission medium. Even more so, any cross coupling oftransmission mediums is provided at the WebTV device. And, in mostinstances, when shopping online using the WebTV device, the consumerinitiates the shopping session by visiting a site. Only at that time,may the consumer then select an item to purchase, and then have the itemdelivered to the WebTV device.

Therefore, there is a need for a system capable of centralizing thecross coupling of transmission mediums with limited configurationrequirements at a consumer's location. Such a system not only permits aconsumer to shop online using one transmission medium and receive apurchased item using a different transmission medium, but also itpermits easy upgrades, or the addition of new transmission mediumswithout having to modify any consumer device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Methods and systems consistent with the present invention provide across channel fulfillment system that enables consumers to purchase andreceive items using different transmission mediums. The fulfillmentsystem is a centralized distribution system that maintains informationrelating to consumers and has access to multiple transmission mediums.Specifically, the fulfillment system contains a database of consumercontact information relating to each transmission medium. Thefulfillment system uses a remote device to provide information toconsumers. The remote device transmits and receives broadcast messagesincluding information relating to purchasable items. The fulfillmentsystem may deliver a purchased item to the consumer using a mediumdifferent from that used to purchase the item.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate an implementation of theinvention and, together with the description, serve to explain theadvantages and principles of the invention. In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of the architecture of a network ina manner consistent with the principle of the present invention;

FIG. 2A depicts a more detailed diagram of the remote device depicted inFIG. 1;

FIG. 2B depicts a more detailed diagram of the client device depicted inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 depicts a more detailed diagram of the fulfillment systemdepicted in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 illustrates a fulfillment system and its relationship to adatabase in a manner consistent with the principles of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 depicts a flow chart of the steps performed by the fulfillmentsystem of FIG. 1 in a manner consistent with the principles of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 6 depicts a flow chart of the steps performed by remote device ofFIG. 1 in a manner consistent with the principles of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description of the invention refers to theaccompanying drawings. Although the description includes exemplaryimplementations, other implementations are possible, and changes may bemade to the implementations described without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention. The following detailed description does notlimit the invention. Instead, the scope of the invention is defined bythe appended claims. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers willbe used throughout the drawings and the following description to referto the same or like parts.

Overview

Methods and systems consistent with the present invention provide across channel fulfillment and delivery system that transmits andreceives information relating to purchasable items to and from consumersusing multiple transmission mediums. Such methods and systems enableconsumers to automatically and electronically receive purchased itemsfrom the fulfillment system using a different medium than used topurchase the items.

Methods and systems consistent with the present invention also provideconsumers an interface associated with a remote device to facilitatepurchasing purchasable items. A consumer may select a displayed item onthe consumer interface to purchase. For example, a consumer may selectdigital songs or software to be delivered. A client device, capable ofreceiving and using the items, receives the purchasable items.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of the architecture of a cross channelfulfillment system 100 in a manner consistent with the principles of thepresent invention. System 100 contains a remote device 102, fulfillmentsystem 104, and a client device 106. Remote device 102 enables consumersto view purchasable items using a video display, such as a televisionmonitor, and select purchasable items using an input device, such as aninfrared controller. Remote device 102, placed at a consumer location,receives broadcast messages from fulfillment system 104 and transmitspurchase instructions to fulfillment system 104 using any broadcastmedium, such as radio waves. A purchase instruction may includeinformation, such as purchase information (e.g., PIN number, creditcards), delivery information (e.g., e-mail address), and/or informationidentifying the items to purchase (e.g., SKU). The purchase information,along with a remote device identification, is transmitted to fulfillmentsystem 104 for processing. Remote device 102 also contains a cachingmechanism for storing recently received broadcast messages in case theconsumer does not initially see or hear the broadcast message. Inaddition remote device 102 may transmit the purchase informationrealtime, periodically on a scheduled basis, or when polled byfulfillment system 104.

When a purchase instruction is received at fulfillment system 104, thesystem determines if the instruction is valid. To do so, the systemlocates, in various connected databases, records associated with theconsumer. The records may include a remote device identification, aconsumer identification, a PIN number, an e-mail address, and a paymentidentifier. System 104 cross references the remote device identificationwith the delivery information and payment information. If the deliveryinformation or payment information is incomplete or faulty, system 104transmits a message to remote device 102 prompting a valid completion.Otherwise, the order is considered valid, and the item may beelectronically sent to the consumer in a medium specified by theconsumer when placing the order (e.g., e-mail delivery).

The cross channel fulfillment system provides a number of benefits overtraditional electronic ordering systems. First, the fulfillment systembroadcasts information corresponding to purchasable items to a pluralityof consumers. This simple approach enables the fulfillment system tomake many offers to many consumers at the same time. Unlike traditionaldelivery systems where the consumer initiates the shopping session, thefulfillment system provides information relating to purchasable items toconsumers without any consumer interaction. Moreover, by broadcastingthe information, a consumer may first see (or listen) to the purchasableitem before deciding whether to purchase it. That is, since the remotedevice stores the broadcasted information for a period of time (e.g., incache) after the broadcast, a consumer unable to initially view thebroadcast may still purchase the items. Second, the system managesmultiple transmission mediums from a centralized location (e.g.,Internet, cable, satellite). Any updates to the remote devices, or newtransmission mediums for delivery are easily implemented at thecentralized location instead of having to individually upgrade eachremote device that converges multiple transmission mediums. Acentralized database maintains all transmission mediums, including whichconsumers may use which mediums for delivery. Third, the fulfillmentsystem easily implements non-real time back channel delivery to aconsumer's location. That is, if there is excessive load at the time aconsumer transmits a purchase instruction to the fulfillment system, thesystem delivers the purchased items at a later time. Since the deliverymay be on a transmission medium different from the medium used to orderthe item, the fulfillment system can take advantage of the non-real timefulfillment.

Finally, the fulfillment system links consumer records in a centralizedlocation. This helps minimize outstanding consumer records for varioustransmission mediums since the system maintains a database that can beused to cross reference the transmission mediums.

System Architecture and Operation

FIG. 2A depicts a more detailed diagram of remote device 102, whichcontains a memory 202, a secondary storage device 210, a CPU 220, aninput device 230, a video display 240, and a transmission component 250.Memory 202 contains device software 204 that enables a consumer to sendinstructions to fulfillment system 104. An instruction may be a requestto purchase digital items, such as the digital version of books ormusic. Secondary storage device 210 contains unique identificationinformation that identifies remote device 102, such as an identificationnumber and other information identifying the consumer. Transmissioncomponent 250 communicates with fulfillment system 104 by receivingbroadcast messages and sending purchase instructions. For example,transmission component 250 may communicate with fulfillment system 104using radio waves. One skilled in the art will appreciate that remotedevice 102 may be composed of separate components, such as a set-box fora television, decoder device, and a storage device (e.g., external harddrive, or network storage device).

FIG. 2B depicts a more detailed diagram of a client device 106, whichcontains a memory 260, a secondary storage device 270, a centralprocessing unit (CPU) 280, an input device 290, and a video display 292.Memory 260 includes a receiver program 262 that allows a consumer toreceive digital items in a different transmission medium different fromthe transmission medium used for the broadcast message. For example, areceiver program 262 may be an e-mail program, such as the Eudora e-mailclient, from Eudora.

As shown in FIG. 3, fulfillment system 104 includes a memory 320, asecondary storage device 330, a CPU 340, an input device 350, a videodisplay 360, and a transmission component 370. Memory 320 includes ordersoftware 322 and clearing house software 324. Order software 322determines whether the consumer is authorized to purchase thepurchasable item. Clearinghouse software 324 cross references remotedevice identifications with consumer delivery information as well aspayment information. Clearinghouse software also transmits purchasableitems to client device 106. Secondary storage device 330 contains adatabase 332 that correlates information associated with each consumer,such as remote device 102 information and client device 106 information,further described below. Transmission component 370 transmits broadcastmessages to and receives purchase instructions from a remote device 102.

As shown in FIG. 4, database 332 contains a catalog information table402 and a consumer information table 404. Catalog information table 402contains information associated with all purchasable items, such as aunique identification number, purchasable item name, and a digitalrepresentation of the purchasable item. Consumer information table 404contains consumer information corresponding to consumers able topurchase items. For example, a consumer may be able to purchase items ifthe consumer has previously registered with fulfillment system 104. insuch a case, consumer information table 404 may indicate so. A consumermay register with fulfillment system 104 by submitting billing, payment,and identification information (e.g., PIN). A record 412 includes foreach consumer: a consumer identification; a PIN; a remote deviceidentification; delivery information (e.g., e-mail address); and apayment information (e.g., credit card) One skilled in the art willappreciate that tables 402, 404 may contain additional information, andmay be located in multiple databases. For example, an Internet ServiceProvider (ISP) may contain information relating to the deliveryinformation, whereas a cable operator may contain information relatingto payment information and consumer information.

FIG. 5 depicts a flow chart of the steps performed by fulfillment system104. First, fulfillment system 104 transmits a broadcast messageidentifying purchasable items to a remote device 102 (step 502).Fulfillment system 104 uses transmission component 370 to communicatewith remote device 102. In response, if a consumer purchases an item,fulfillment system 104 receives a purchase instruction (step 504). Theinstruction may include a remote device 102 identification, a consumerPIN, a list of items purchased by the consumer, and a deliveryinstruction. The instruction may be sent in a transmission mediumsimilar to the broadcast in step 502.

Once fulfillment system 104 receives the instruction, fulfillment system104 then accesses database 332 to verify the purchase instruction (step506). Fulfillment system 104 locates a record 412 that corresponds tothe consumer identification. Fulfillment system 104 checks if consumersupplied PIN corresponds to the PIN listed in record 412 (step 508). Ifthe PINs do not match, or if there is other incomplete information(e.g., missing PIN, payment information, or items) fulfillment system104 may transmit a message to remote device 102 requestingreverification and/or updated information (step 510). However, if thePINs match, fulfillment system 104 first accounts for the purchase (step512). To account for the purchase, fulfillment system 104 may perform abulling function, such as charging the consumer's credit card, orcreating a billing record to send to the consumer.

Once the purchase is accounted for, order software 322 may notifyclearinghouse software 324 to transmit the item to the consumer usingthe delivery method indicated in the purchase instruction (step 514).The notification may contain an item identification and a consumeridentification. In most instances, the delivery method will be atransmission medium different from the transmission medium used for thebroadcast message. Once clearinghouse software 324 receives thenotification, clearinghouse software 324 may access database 332 tolocate a delivery address and transmits the item to client device 106(step 516).

FIG. 6 depicts a flow chart of the steps performed by remote device 102.First, remote device 102 receives a broadcast message from fulfillmentsystem 104 (step 602). The broadcast message contains informationidentifying a purchasable item as well as the purchasable item itself.For example, in the case of music, the broadcast message may include asingle track from a CD as well as the CD identification (e.g., SKUnumber). This way, the consumer may first listen to the CD and, if theconsumer decides to purchase the CD, may do so by using the CDidentification to create a purchase instruction. If however, theconsumer does not immediately access remote device 102, the broadcastmessage may be stored for a predetermined period of time in memory 202of remote device 102. This way, the consumer may access the broadcastmessage at a later period.

If the consumer decides to purchase the purchasable item, remote device102 transmits a response to the broadcast message to fulfillment server104, as described above. Once received at fulfillment server 104, remotedevice 102 may display the purchasable item on video display 260 (step604). For example, the broadcast message may be an audio clip from a CD,or a textual message describing a digital book. The message may bestored in secondary storage device 210 so that the consumer may laterpurchase a purchasable item. If the consumer purchases an item, remotedevice 102 receives the consumer's PIN number, and an itemidentification (step 606). Next, remote device 102 transmits theconsumer information, identification of the selected item to bepurchased, and remote device 102 identification information as apurchase instruction to fulfillment system 104 (step 608). In doing so,fulfillment system 104 may then determine if the purchase instruction iscomplete and complete the purchase.

CONCLUSION

As explained, systems consistent with the present invention overcome theshortcomings of existing systems by providing a cross channelfulfillment system that enables consumers to purchase and receive itemsusing different transmission mediums

Although aspects of the present invention are described as being storedin memory, one skilled in the art will appreciate that these aspects maybe stored on or read from other computer readable media, such assecondary storage devices, like hard disks, floppy disks, and CD-ROM; acarrier wave received from a network like the Internet; or other formsof ROM or RAM. Additionally, although specific components and programsof various computers and various servers have been described, oneskilled in the art will appreciate that these may contain additional ordifferent components or programs.

The foregoing description of an implementation of the invention has beenpresented for purposes of illustration and description. It is notexhaustive and does not limit the invention to the precise formdisclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of theabove teachings or may be acquired from practicing of the invention. Forexample, the described implementation includes software but the presentinvention may be implemented as a combination of hardware and softwareor in hardware alone. The invention may be implemented with bothobject-oriented and non-object-oriented programming systems.

1-18. (canceled)
 19. In an environment comprising (a) a system forbroadcasting information to a plurality of consumers, the informationidentifying a purchasable item available for network delivery, and (b) aplurality of remote devices each configured to (1) receive the broadcastinformation, (2) enable a user of the remote device to view informationabout the purchasable item and (3) receive input from the user, amethod, comprising: broadcasting information to the plurality of remotedevices, the information identifying media content available forelectronic purchase; presenting information about the media content to auser of one of the plurality of remote devices; receiving at said one ofthe plurality of remote devices input from the user, wherein the inputindicates the user's desire to purchase the media content; transmittinga purchase instruction from said one remote device to a fulfillmentsystem after receiving the input from the user; processing, at thefulfillment system, the purchase instruction; as a result of processingthe purchase instruction, electronically transmitting an electronic filecontaining the media content from the fulfillment system to a seconddevice, wherein the second device is separate from said one remotedevice that transmitted the purchase instruction to the fulfillmentsystem; receiving the file at the second device; and automatically inresponse to receiving the file, storing the file in a storage unit ofthe second device.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the purchaseinstruction comprises a device identifier identifying said one remotedevice and said step of processing the purchase instruction comprisesusing said device identifier to retrieve a previously stored deliveryaddress, which delivery address is associated with the device identifierand the step of transmitting the electronic file to the second devicecomprises transmitting the electronic file to the delivery address. 21.The method of claim 19, wherein the purchase instruction comprises auser identifier identifying the user and said step of processing thepurchase instruction comprises using said user identifier to retrieve apreviously stored delivery address, which delivery address is associatedwith the user identifier, and the step of transmitting the electronicfile to the second device comprises transmitting the electronic file tothe delivery address.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the useridentifier is a personal identification number.
 23. The method of claim19, wherein the purchase instruction includes a delivery instructionindicating a delivery method.
 24. The method of claim 19, furthercomprising the step of maintaining at the fulfillment system informationassociating each said remote device with at least one user.
 25. Themethod of claim 19, further comprising the step of maintaining at thefulfillment system information associating said one remote device withsaid second device.
 26. The method of claim 19, wherein the step ofprocessing the purchase instruction includes determining whether theuser is permitted to purchase the media content.
 27. The method of claim26, wherein the determining step includes the step of accessing paymentinformation associated with the user using a user identifier associatedwith the user.
 28. The method of claim 27, wherein the user identifieris included in the purchase instruction transmitted to the fulfillmentsystem.
 29. The method of claim 19, wherein each remote device maintainsa set of previously broadcasted information for a predetermined periodof time.
 30. The method of claim 19, wherein the information isbroadcast using a cable television network.
 31. The method of claim 19,wherein the information is broadcast using an IP enabled transmissionnetwork.
 32. The method of claim 19, wherein the information isbroadcast using a wireless communication network.
 33. The method ofclaim 19, wherein the step of electronically transmitting the electronicfile containing the media content from the fulfillment system to thesecond device comprises transmitting the file immediately afterprocessing the purchase instruction.
 34. The method of claim 19, whereinthe step of electronically transmitting the electronic file containingthe media content from the fulfillment system to the second devicecomprises transmitting the file a later time after processing thepurchase instruction.
 35. The method of claim 19, wherein the step ofelectronically transmitting the electronic file containing the mediacontent from the fulfillment system to the second device comprisestransmitting the file by electronic mail.
 36. The method of claim 19,further comprising the step of electronically transmitting theelectronic file containing the media content from the fulfillment systemto a third device in response to processing the purchase instruction,wherein the third device is different than said second device and saidone remote device that transmitted the purchase instruction to thefulfillment system.
 37. The method of claim 19, wherein the seconddevice implements an e-mail server.
 38. A system, comprising: aplurality of remote devices; a fulfillment system; and a broadcastsystem for broadcasting information to the plurality of remote devices,the information identifying an item available for electronic purchase,wherein at least one of the plurality of remote devices comprises:presenting means for presenting information about the item to a user ofsaid at least one remote device; receiving means for receiving at saidat least one remote device input from the user, wherein the inputindicates the user's desire to purchase the item; and transmitting meansfor transmitting a purchase instruction from said at least one remotedevice to the fulfillment system, and wherein the fulfillment systemcomprises: purchase instruction processing means for processing thepurchase instruction; delivering means for delivering the itemelectronically from the fulfillment system to a second device inresponse to the processing of the purchase instruction, wherein thesecond device is different than said at least one remote device thattransmitted the purchase instruction to the fulfillment system.
 39. Thesystem of claim 38, wherein the fulfillment system comprises informationassociating each remote device with a user.
 40. The system of claim 38,wherein the fulfillment system comprises information associating said atleast one remote device with information about the second device. 41.The system of claim 38, wherein the purchase instruction processingmeans includes determining means for determining whether the user ispermitted to purchase the item.
 42. The system of claim 41, wherein thedetermining means includes means for accessing payment informationassociated with the user using a user identifier associated with theuser.
 43. The system of claim 42, wherein the user identifier isincluded in the purchase instruction transmitted to the fulfillmentsystem.
 44. The system of claim 38, wherein said at least one remotedevice includes means for caching the broadcast information for at leasta predetermined period of time.
 45. The system of claim 38, wherein thefulfillment system includes means for storing, for each remote device,at least one remote device identifier and data indicating at least onedelivery address.
 46. The system of claim 45, wherein the deliveringmeans for delivering the item to the second device comprisestransmitting means for transmitting the item to the delivery address.47. The system of claim 38, wherein said at least one remote deviceincludes a set-top box, a personal computing device and/or a wirelesscommunication device.
 48. The system of claim 38, wherein the purchaseinstruction comprises a device identifier identifying said one remotedevice and said purchase instruction processing means is configured touse said device identifier to retrieve a previously stored deliveryaddress, which delivery address is associated with the deviceidentifier.
 49. The system of claim 38, wherein the purchase instructioncomprises a user identifier identifying the user and said purchaseinstruction processing means is configured to use said user identifierto retrieve a previously stored delivery address, which delivery addressis associated with the user identifier.
 50. The system of claim 38,wherein the purchase instruction includes a delivery instructionindicating a delivery method.
 51. The system of claim 38, wherein thedelivery means is also for delivering the item electronically from thefulfillment system to a third device in response to processing thepurchase instruction, wherein the third device is different than saidsecond device and said one remote device that transmitted the purchaseinstruction to the fulfillment system.
 52. The system of claim 38,wherein the second device implements an e-mail server.
 53. A methodcomprising: broadcasting information to a plurality of remote devices,the information identifying an item available for electronic purchase,wherein the information is broadcast to the plurality of remote deviceswithout any of the plurality of remote devices requesting theinformation; receiving from one of said plurality of remote devices apurchase instruction identifying the item and identifying the remotedevice and/or a user of the remote device; processing the purchaseinstruction to determine whether the item is available to be purchasedby the user; and transmitting the item by electronic mail to an e-mailaddress associated with said remote device and/or said user if it wasdetermined that the item is available to be purchased by the user. 54.The method of claim 53, wherein the purchase instruction comprises adevice identifier identifying said remote device and said step ofprocessing the purchase instruction comprises using said deviceidentifier to retrieve a previously stored delivery address, whichdelivery address is associated with the device identifier.
 55. Themethod of claim 53, wherein the purchase instruction comprises a useridentifier identifying the user and said step of processing the purchaseinstruction comprises using said user identifier to retrieve apreviously stored delivery address, which delivery address is associatedwith the user identifier.
 56. The method of claim 55, wherein the useridentifier is a personal identification number.
 57. The method of claim53, wherein the purchase instruction includes a delivery instructionindicating a delivery method.
 58. The method of claim 53, furthercomprising the step of maintaining information associating each saidremote device with at least one user.
 59. The method of claim 53,wherein the step of processing the purchase instruction includesaccessing payment information associated with said user using a useridentifier associated with said user.
 60. The method of claim 56,wherein the user identifier is included in the purchase instructiontransmitted to the fulfillment system.
 61. The method of claim 53,wherein said one remote device maintains a set of previously broadcastedinformation for a predetermined period of time.
 62. The method of claim53, wherein the information is broadcast using a cable televisionnetwork.
 63. The method of claim 62, wherein said one remote devicecomprises a set-top box, a personal computing device and/or a wirelesscommunication device.
 64. The method of claim 53, further comprising thestep of transmitting the item electronically from the fulfillment systemto a second device after processing the purchase instruction, whereinthe second device is different than said one remote device thattransmitted the purchase instruction to the fulfillment system.
 65. Themethod of claim 53, wherein the step of transmitting the item byelectronic mail to the e-mail address comprises transmitting an e-mailmessage to an e-mail server associated with the e-mail address, whereinthe item is attached to the e-mail message.
 66. A media content deliverymethod, comprising: using a first device to receive broadcasted mediacontent; while the first device is receiving the broadcasted mediacontent, using the first device to transmit a first message to afulfillment system, wherein the first message includes a deviceidentifier associated with the first device and/or a user identifierassociated with a user of the first device, wherein, after receiving thefirst message, the fulfillment system uses the device identifier and/orthe user identifier to retrieve from a database an address associatedwith the device identifier and/or the user identifier and sends to theretrieved address a second message comprising a purchasable itemcorresponding to the broadcast media content; and using a second deviceto read the second message and obtain the purchasable item.
 67. Themethod of claim 66, wherein the second message is an e-mail message. 68.The method of claim 67, wherein the purchasable item is a file and thefile is attached to the e-mail message.
 69. The method of claim 66,wherein, in response to receiving and processing the first message, thefulfillment system uses the device identifier to retrieve the addressfrom the database.
 70. The method of claim 66, wherein the first deviceis a set-top box.
 71. The method of claim 66, wherein the second deviceis a personal computer.